Overview
A young soldier's return home leads him down a dark path of crime and moral conflict.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- grim
- bitter
- apathetic
- crime film marathon
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a sharply observed, compelling Russian crime drama with strong genre energy and a memorable central performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Danila discovers that killing comes more easily to him than ordinary life, making violence central to his self-understanding.
Danila enters the criminal economy of 1990s St. Petersburg after military service, amid social dislocation and weakened institutions.
Danila is asked to kill a specific person, and that assignment structures his movement through the criminal world.
Danila becomes a devoted fan of Nautilus Pompilius, using the band’s music as a counterpoint to his violent new life.
Films like Brother, and why
Le Samouraï
shares a morally compromised contract-killer protagonist, neo-noir crime atmosphere, and bleak examination of violence and identity
You Were Never Really Here
shares stripped-down crime storytelling, hard-edged urban alienation, and a protagonist whose violence becomes an existential burden
Eastern Promises
shares post-socialist criminal milieu, fatalistic tone, and emotionally detached underworld characters
The Killer
shares direct genre filmmaking, criminal protagonists, and tension between personal loyalty and organized crime
Movie Details
- Director
- Aleksei Balabanov
- Release Date
- 1997-12-12
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (500)
Cast
- Sergei Bodrov Jr.
- Viktor Sukhorukov
- Yuriy Kuznetsov
- Svetlana Pismichenko
- Mariya Zhukova
- Sergey Murzin
- Irina Rakshina
- Igor Shibanov
- Andrey Fedortsov
- Vladimir Ermilov
Common questions
- What is Brother about?
- A discharged soldier enters his brother’s criminal network and finds that becoming a killer is easier than building an ordinary life.
- What is Brother like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Brother as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Brother violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Brother as moderate.
- What did critics think of Brother?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a sharply observed, compelling Russian crime drama with strong genre energy and a memorable central performance.
- Which films are like Brother?
- Films with a similar feel include Le Samouraï, You Were Never Really Here, Eastern Promises, and The Killer.
- How long is Brother?
- Brother runs 96 minutes.
